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Tag Archives: Helen Mirren

Based on a real character, Sarah Winchester, the grieving widow of the famous William Winchester, inventor of the Winchester firearm. A tragic figure, Sarah has never gotten over the death of her husband and beloved child, and is haunted by the spirits of the people she believes died violently by the Winchester gun. Rich beyond her means as the sole heir to her husband’s fortune, she is compelled to build room after room in her rambling mansion (still standing and now a tourist attraction in San Jose, California) to house these spirits, and it is here that the film begins – when psychiatrist, Dr Eric Prince, is hired by the Winchester company shareholders to assess Sarah’s mental health and to diagnose her as mentally unfit and thus remove her as head of the company. However, Eric has demons of his own. The film is sprinkled with things that go bump in the night and some typically standard tropes, but overall, I very much enjoyed this film. Directed by identical twins, the Spierig Brothers, the film has some powerful visual effects and gorgeous production values. The classic haunted house, this one based in reality, Winchester, starring the perfectly cast Helen Mirren as Sarah, is well worth a viewing.